Easy Peasy Caprese Salad

One of my favorite food experiences is picking and eating a ripe tomato right off the vine in the warmth of the afternoon. Tomatoes in the store are normally picked ahead of their peak, and then ripened with chemicals like ethylene. In addition, store bought tomatoes are usually refrigerated in transit, causing the tender flesh to develop a mealy consistency.

If 4 months ago you had enough foresight to plant tomatoes, this is a great way to use the multitudes of fruit hanging on the vines. For an absolutely delicious treat, pick, chop, and eat as quickly as possible.

Ingredients:

2 large fresh picked tomatoes.
1/4 lb fresh mozzarella (get Mozzarella di Bufala Campana if possible, but cow's milk mozzarella works well too)
1/2 cup of Balsamic Vinegar, reduced over low heat by three fourths and then chilled to room temperature
4 basil leaves, cut into long thin strips ( chiffonade)
1 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Coarse Sea Salt
Cracked Black Pepper

1 Wash and chop the tomatoes into bite size pieces.
2 Cut the mozzarella into small bite size chunks.
3 Combine the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, reserving a few basil strips for garnish
4 Coat with balsamic reduction
5 Drizzle olive oil over salad
6 Sprinkle salt and fresh cracked black pepper
7 Garnish with remaining basil strips

Notes:
-Although the traditional Caprese salad doesn't include Balsamic Vinegar, it really helps call out the sweetness in the fresh tomatoes.
-Local farmers markets are usually a good source of fresh tomatoes. I really like making this with Brandywine, Cherokee Purple and Yellow Pear heirloom tomatoes.
-If you don't have fresh mozzarella, you can always use homemade ricotta (see recipe below). I like to create a bed of arugala lettuce, top with tomatoes, then the ricotta, balsamic, basil and olive oil.
-Tomatoes are FULL of lycopene, an oil soluble antioxidant. Studies have shown that a small amount of oil with tomatoes makes the lycopene much easier for your body to absorb.

Homemade Ricotta

Although traditional Ricotta is made from the whey leftover in the cheese making process, this cow's milk version creates a rich and sweet version guaranteed to please. -Makes about 1 cup.

Ingredients:
1 quart whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp coarse salt (I prefer sea salt)
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar

1 Combine the milk, salt, and cream in a saucepan and place bring to a simmer over medium/high heat, stirring to prevent scalding.
2 Cover a colander with cheesecloth, and place over a large bowl.
2 Add lemon juice and stir quickly (but gently) to blend.
3 Turn heat down to medium/low and watch until all the ricotta curds have separated from the whey (about 1 minute)
4 Pour the curd/whey mixture into the cheesecloth covered colander and let drain
5 If you won't be serving immediately, refrigerate in a covered container.

Notes:
The age of your milk will have a big impact on when the milk starts to curdle. Older milk that has started to sour will curdle without the use of lemon juice or vinegar. Not a problem, if that happens, just omit the lemon juice/vinegar.

Concord Grape Sorbet

With the grape harvest rapidly approaching, it makes sense to find a use for these delicious grapes, commonly referred as "Foxy", due to their musky flavor, particularly in fermented products. If you're planning on making grape preserves, it's best to start this recipe at the very beginning of the day, and update it as you go along. When all the mason jars have been pulled from their water bath, you'll have this delicious frozen treat waiting for you after a long day's work.

Ingredients:
2 quarts concord grapes, stemmed
1/2 cup sugar
Juice from one lemon
1 Tbs white rum (Optional)

After washing and de-stemming all the grapes, separate the grapes into 2 or 3 batches, and add each batch to blender. Blend each batch at high speed until broken down, pour the mixture through a strainer, removing all the grape solids. Repeat for all batches. You should have about 2 cups of raw grape juice.

Add sugar, lemon and rum (optional) to the grape juice, mixing well until the sugar is dissolved.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Add the grape mixture to a 2 quart ice cream maker, and mix according to the manufacturers instructions.

Once the sorbet has properly set, remove from the ice cream maker, and transfer to a freezer safe vessel. Cover, and let freeze for at least 2 more hours.

Notes:
Although this recipe is designed for a 2 Qt ice cream maker, it only makes about 3/4 of a quart of sorbet, -a larger cooling surface is required to quickly freeze the juice, and reduce the formation of ice crystals, resulting in a silky smooth mouth feel. If you have a larger ice cream maker, feel free to increase the recipe accordingly, remembering that your final product should be no more than 1/2 the capacity of the ice cream maker.

The rum's sole purpose is to lower the freezing point of the sorbet, thereby improving the texture.

To make Grape Lime Ricky Sorbet, eliminate lemon, but increase to juice from 3 limes.

Grapes are FULL of pectin, so the time in the fridge is absolutely necessary. The sugar will bind up some of the water, and allow the pectin to create a stiffer grape gel. This helps to create a smooth sorbet.

Chocolate Gelato

In late summer, nothing beats cooling off after a hard day's work with a thick chocolate gelato.

3 Cups Milk
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Cup Sugar
6 egg yolks
12 Oz Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Tsp Vanilla

Combine the Milk, cream and sugar in a saucepan over high heat. Meanwhile, whisk the yolks in a small bowl, and place the place the chocolate chips in a large bowl (you'll be adding all the ingredients in this recipe to this bowl down the road).

Bring the milk just shy of boiling (scald), take 1/2 cup of the milk and add to the egg yolks. Add another 1/c cup of milk to the chocolate chips.

Whisk the eggs well. Once the milk is incorporated into the eggs, slowly drizzle the milk/egg mixture back into the saucepan, whisking the milk while drizzling. Don't allow the milk to boil, your goal is to keep the milk between 150 and 160 degrees F. A candy thermometer helps a LOT here. Once the eggs are completely incorporated, and the milk/egg has reached a temp higher than 150, but not higher than 160, add vanilla, and remove from heat.

Mix the chocolate chips and milk mixture well, all the chips should be melted.

While mixing the chocolate chips, slowly add the egg/milk mixture to the chips. Mix well.

Cover the gelato base, and put in the fridge until the base is cooled throughout.

Add to an ice cream maker, and follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Once the gelato starts to set up, place in freezer for two more hours to solidify.

Notes:
The egg/milk/custard mixture is commonly referred to as "Creme Anglais." It's a light pudding usually used as a sauce. The egg yolk proteins thicken the milk. In this recipe, the thickened milk makes for a decadent ice cream base. You could skip the chocolate, and go for strawberries, peaches, cherries, raspberries.... any fruit flavor you desire, just follow the preparation steps up to the point that you start adding the milk/egg mixture to the chocolate. Hold off on adding your fruit to the mix until after the custard has a chance to cool.

This will freeze up the best (and fastest) if you put it in a 4 qt ice cream mixer. A 2 qt mixer takes too long, and ends up creating ice crystals, so your gelato is less than smooth. If you have a 2 qt mixer, just cut the recipe in half and you'll be VERY pleased.

-For extra chocolate flavor, add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the milk/cream mixture prior to heating. Chocolate and coffee share a LOT of similar flavors, and a tiny bit of coffee tricks your mouth into thinking the chocolate is MUCH more prevalent.